To save her, he’ll sacrifice everything.
Born a dream reaper, Steele Ezo, a powerful half dragon, half human, is struggling to find his place in the Drakon hierarchy. He is ready to accept his fate until he realizes the next victim on the Reaper’s hit list is the sexy thief who’s caught his eye.
She’s supposed to die.
He’s forbidden to stop it.
But their inexplicable connection makes it impossible to step aside.
Abandoned by her family and abused by local enforcers, Ravyn Walsh lives life on her own terms. She’s created an underground sanctuary for the oppressed citizens of Burgess, and she needs funds to keep it running. When a lucrative job—stealing an ancient dagger—lands in her lap, she doesn’t hesitate, not even when a smoldering tattooed stranger attempts to stop her.
A dagger that can raise the dead is a powerful tool—one that could change the course of history. As they fight to keep the dagger out of the wrong hands, Ravyn will be forced to embrace the truth of her heritage, while Steele will find himself torn between saving a life that isn’t meant to be saved and denouncing the power he was born to wield.
Also available from A.C. Arthur
and Carina Press
Awaken the Dragon
Kimani Romance
Love Me Like No Other
A Cinderella Affair
Guarding His Body
Second Chance, Baby
Defying Desire
Full House Seduction
Summer Heat
Sing Your Pleasure
Touch of Fate
Winter Kisses
Desire a Donovan
Surrender to a Donovan
Decadent Dreams
Eve of Passion
From A.C. Arthur writing as Artist Arthur
and Kimani TRU
Manifest
Mystify
Mutiny
Mayhem
Mesmerize
Claim the Dragon
A.C. Arthur
Contents
The Legion Glossary
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
About the Author
Excerpt from Awaken the Dragon by A.C. Arthur
The Legion Glossary
Baron Drakon—a dragon not born from a pure breed leadership clan; in some cases their blood was mixed with other beings.
Communicator—a watch-like device that serves as GPS, internet, email and telephone, worn by the Legion agents and used to communicate with each other.
Drakon—dragon.
Drakon Selection—the act by which the dragon half of a Drakon selects its mate.
Dream dust—a frosty white dust that any dream being can produce to put someone to sleep.
Dream Reaper—receives visions of death via his dreams, and guides the Reaper to its next taking.
Dream Watcher—keeps watch over dreams and is able to communicate with others through dreams.
Fade/fading—the act of a Drakon vanishing from one place and traveling to another.
Far Realm—home of the Drakon and other mythological beings such as shifters (wolf, feline, etc.), gods and goddesses.
Fey Realm—home of the fey people; mystical fantasy-like land.
Hella—a combination of strong herbs spiked with hallucinogens.
Human Realm—home of the human species.
In-Between—the resting place between the veils that separate the realms.
Lords—vampires born of the Royal Blood.
Mimic—can change the structure of molecules in his/her body to look like someone else—human forms only.
Mind cleaning—the act of erasing memories from a human’s mind.
Noble Drakon—a dragon born from a pure breed clan with leadership status.
Reaper—a being that harvests death to maintain the power balance on the realms and delivers souls to the Spirit Realm.
Royal Blood—the royal hierarchy of the vampires.
Royal Capitol—the building which houses the global council of vampires.
Royal Court—the combined delegation of the global council of vampires and the King and Queen.
Soul emotion—feelings and thoughts not spoken, but felt deep within one’s soul. Only empaths and some magickal beings can read soul emotions.
Soul identity—the true nature of a being, beneath any façade such as beautification or adjustments via human bodies and other costumes.
Soul Identifier—a being with the power to see a soul identity.
Spirit Realm—home of the spirits; corporeal beings; ominous fog-filled land.
Veils—area that separates each realm, connected by the In-Between.
Watcher—keeps watch over a clan in the present realm, also possesses remote viewing, which is the power to track people or objects from afar.
Chapter One
He was watching her again. She could feel his fierce gaze bearing down on her like rolling thunder. Might as well give him something to look at.
She walked onto the dance floor, raising her arms above her head as the beat of the music moved through her, moving her ass so he could see each plump mound bounce along with her steps. The DJ had the bass turned up and she felt each thump in her chest as she turned so her back was facing the wall where he stood. She closed her eyes and let the female rapper’s easy flow slide through her mind. The lyrics said something about throwing it back and Ravyn thought it apropos since she wanted the enforcer who might be a little obsessed with her to catch all the shade she was throwing at him. If he wanted to watch her, he could watch, but he’d never catch her.
She was too good to be caught.
Besides that, he’d been watching her for weeks and had yet to speak one word to her, so maybe he wasn’t about doing his job. That wouldn’t be a surprise since none of the enforcers in Burgess actually did their real job. Instead they preferred to adopt a sadistic form of keeping order, using their guns and badges to cover the city in a cloak of fear and hopelessness.
“I like the way you move.”
Her eyes popped open at another man’s voice and she found herself staring up into eyes so dark they looked fake. His complexion was pale, brown hair straggly and hanging past his shoulders. She continued to dance, and he put his hands on her waist, picking up the rhythm and moving with her.
She smiled and lowered her arms to break the contact. “Hands off,” she snapped.
“Don’t get feisty, baby. I’m just looking for a good time.”
Ravyn stopped dancing and stepped closer to him, poking the sharp tip of the pocketknife she’d quickly pulled from the waist of her jeans into his gut. “Don’t get dead. Back up and go find your good time elsewhere.”
He hesitated. Big mistake. He blinked as if he doubted her, considering what disgusting words he would spew next in the hope of challenging her in some way.
